User-Level Customizations Possible in Moodle – Part 1

According to C and M Research, “the market of learning management systems is to hit a value of $7.83 billion by 2018″. These statistics clearly show that LMSs are now seen as an indispensable part of today’s training world.

This trend also shows that organizations are now moving away from commercial LMSs (that are either reluctant to add new features or charge a lot for every customization) towards smaller, less known open sources like MOODLE.

According to eLearning Guild’s Study on Recent Trends in the LMS Landscape, Moodle is on the top of list of adoption. There are many reasons for this, the primary reason being “the ease of Customization” that Moodle provides.

Here I would like to share with you some features that can be customized in Moodle LMS.

1. Easy-to-use Navigation

We all know the importance of navigation in LMSs. Users do not show interest to use the LMSs that have an incompatible interface because such LMSs are unusable.

We can customize easy-to-use dashboards in Moodle that can promote accessible eLearning. Here is a sample with additional features in the dropdown menu.

2. Multi-language Interface

More than 200 languages can be configured in Moodle LMS allowing users to switch between the languages whenever they wish to.

3. Learning Paths

We can have different learning paths to meet all the needs of all Learners. Each learning path can have course-specific learning assets such as documents, courses, assessments, feedback forms and also certificates.

Individual learning paths can also be configured in such a way that learners can select their own learning path and complete a course to get the certificates.

4. Social Networking

We can have various social media tools to support social learning allowing learners to share and learn from other users.

Like using LinkedIn, users can share, follow, recommend and see company profiles, jobs and employees in the network. Using Facebook, users can like, send, follow, see company profile, comment and view the recent activities.

5. Search Function

Users can search courses using the menu and also using the search option that is available in the catalog.

Learners can also search the Glossary and the Discussion Forums to retrieve any required information.

Some features can be customized in Moodle to make training activities more effective. We will have a look at some more features in my next blog. Stay tuned to the second post.